Thread: Guilty Plea in Transport of Illegals

Guilty Plea in Transport of Illegals

Jackson, Miss.
Posted: 5:01 PM Mar 6, 2008
Last Updated: 5:01 PM Mar 6, 2008


The U.S. Attorney's Office in Jackson announced Thursday that James Leroy Pierson of South Carolina pleaded guilty to transporting illegal aliens via airplane for profit.

In a news release, officials said U.S. Customs began tracking a small private plans Jan. 28, 2008, from south Texas, with an expected stop in Meridian, Miss., based on the flight record.

Customs said the airplane made three previous trips from McAllen, Tex., to Clemson, South Carolina.

Officials said, when the plane stopped in Meridian, four passengers were removed and admitted to being illegal aliens, and that Pierson admitted he was being paid to fly them.

Person will be sentenced to June 2 at 9 a.m. The offense carries a maximum sentence of ten years and up to a $250,000 fine.

http://www.wtok.com/news/headlines/16356641.html

Person will be sentenced to June 2 at 9 a.m. The offense carries a maximum sentence of ten years and up to a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Customs should also be the proud new owner of the airplane and the rest of his property. Forfeiture laws are meant to take the profit out of crime.

"The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence." Article IV Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.

Posted on Sat, Mar. 08, 2008reprint or license print email
Man admits smuggling immigrants
Seneca pilot pleads guilty to flying illegal immigrants to Clemson
By NOELLE PHILLIPS
A Seneca pilot caught smuggling illegal immigrants from Texas to Clemson faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

James Leroy Pierson, 60, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Southern Mississippi District to transporting illegal immigrants by airplane. He will be sentenced June 2.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigators caught Pierson on Jan. 28 at an airport in Meridian, Miss. He had two men, a woman and a child in his Cessna and was flying them to Clemson, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.

Efforts to reach Pierson, who is free on bail, were unsuccessful.

Illegal immigration is a hot issue in South Carolina, and lawmakers are trying to pass legislation to curb that growing population. A bill under consideration would make it a state crime to transport or harbor illegal immigrants.

Pierson did not fly the immigrants across the U.S./Mexico border, said his defense attorney, George Lucas of Jackson, Miss.

The illegal immigrants previously had lived in South Carolina and were returning to live with family members near Clemson, Lucas said.

After the arrest, Pierson told federal investigators he was making his third trip to transport illegal immigrants and had carried 10 people on those trips.

Pierson was paid $5,000 per trip. He received $1,500 upfront for expenses such as fuel, meals and lodging. He would net about $3,600 for a flight, according to court records.

When Pierson made the trips, he would fly to McAllen, Texas, where he would await a phone call from a middleman. That person would tell Pierson a hotel address and room number where he could find the illegal immigrants, according to court documents. Pierson and the immigrants then would begin their trip to South Carolina.

On Jan. 28, Pierson’s airplane raised suspicions at a refueling stop at the Beaumont, Texas, airport. It was the third time Pierson’s airplane had flown the same route between McAllen and Clemson, and he had been paying cash for fuel.

At Beaumont, border officials decided to follow Pierson in another airplane. When he landed at the Meridian, Miss., airport to fill up, he was arrested.

The Mexican passengers were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and were deported.

Pierson no longer has his airplane, and the federal government has seized his license, Lucas said.

Kevin Short, executive director of the Clemson-Oconee County Airport, said Pierson paid $22 a month to keep his Cessna there. However, Short said he hadn’t seen Pierson or the airplane in about two months.

Short said he did not know about Pierson’s arrest.

“We don’t ask people where they’re going or what they’re doing,â€